scholarly journals Phraseology in Two Omani Undergraduate Civil Engineering Genres: The N of (the) N Pattern

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Priya Mathew

The study of phraseology with respect to continuous and discontinuous frames in academic writing has gathered increasing research attention over the past decade. Their prevalence in expert writing and the influence of discipline and genre on their frequency and type have led to studies that attempted to identify the most productive discontinuous frames in specific disciplines. The aim of this study is to investigate the pattern of the N of (the) N, a prolific pattern in expert academic writing, in two Omani corpora of undergraduate Civil Engineering genres, Case Studies (CS) and Methodology Recounts (MR). The two strands of inquiry involve 1) a comparison between the semantic noun categories of the first (N1) and second noun (N2) used in this pattern and; 2) the N1-N2 sequences in the pattern which realize specific discourse functions in these two genres. Strings belonging to this pattern were retrieved from the two corpora through the corpus interface, Sketch Engine. Findings indicate the prevalence of this frame in the two genres and genre influence on the choice of semantic noun categories. It was also found that the N1-N2 sequences in the pattern are used to realise distinct discourse functions in the two genres. This is one of the first corpus-based studies on university student writing in the Middle East and considering that English is the language of instruction and assessment in many of these countries, these findings have significant pedagogical implications. EFL students in such lingua franca contexts can be supported by a more discipline-specific approach. 

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana Therova

Despite extensive research into academic vocabulary in university student writing, little is known about academic vocabulary in international foundation-level students’ assessed academic writing. Considering that academic vocabulary is regarded as a key element of academic writing style and written assignments are one of the main forms of assessment in university contexts, this is an important omission. This study addresses this gap by employing a corpus-based approach to investigate the development of academic vocabulary in assessed academic writing produced by international students (N=193) in a foundation(gateway) programme over an academic year in the context of a British university based in England and its overseas campuses in the United Arab Emirates and Mauritius. The findings show an increase in the usage of academic vocabulary over the course of the foundation programme and highlight the impact of the assignment topic and brief.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 168-198
Author(s):  
Susan Conrad

Abstract Susan Conrad, Professor of Applied Linguistics at Portland State University (USA), contributes this article on the applications of register research to English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP). Her research focuses on topics including academic register variation, discipline-specific language, student and workplace writing, and grammar and writing pedagogy. Since the 1990s, her work has advocated for and exemplified the ways in which register-based descriptions can facilitate language teaching, including building awareness of register variation in learners and novice writers themselves. This focus is illustrated in her book Real Grammar: A Corpus-Based Approach to English (Conrad & Biber 2009, Pearson Longman), which takes many of the major register-based patterns of variation in English grammar (described in the Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English, Biber et al. 1999) and translates them into practical grammar lessons for language learners, making explicit how grammar use is mediated by register. Her applied focus is also evident in her work as Principal Investigator for the Civil Engineering Writing Project <http://www.cewriting.org/>. The project, funded by the National Science Foundation, addresses the writing needs of Civil Engineering students through corpus-based register comparisons (of university student writing, practitioner workplace writing, and published academic writing), applying the results to the development and evaluation of pedagogical materials that improve students’ preparation for writing in the workplace.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelena O'Reilly ◽  
Eva Jakupčević

Although the second language (L2) acquisition of morphology by late L2 learners has been a popular research area over the past decades, comparatively little is known about the acquisition and development of morphology in children who learn English as a foreign language (EFL). Therefore, the current study presents the findings from a longitudinal oral production study with 9/10-year-old L1 Croatian EFL students who were followed up at the age of 11/12. Our results are largely in line with the limited research so far in this area: young EFL learners have few issues using the be copula and, eventually, the irregular past simple forms, but had considerable problems with accurately supplying the 3rd person singular -s at both data collection points. We also observed a be + base form structure, especially at the earlier stage, which appears to be an emergent past simple construction.


Marine Drugs ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Blessing Mabate ◽  
Chantal Désirée Daub ◽  
Samkelo Malgas ◽  
Adrienne Lesley Edkins ◽  
Brett Ivan Pletschke

Fucoidans are complex polysaccharides derived from brown seaweeds which consist of considerable proportions of L-fucose and other monosaccharides, and sulphated ester residues. The search for novel and natural bioproduct drugs (due to toxicity issues associated with chemotherapeutics) has led to the extensive study of fucoidan due to reports of it having several bioactive characteristics. Among other fucoidan bioactivities, antidiabetic and anticancer properties have received the most research attention in the past decade. However, the elucidation of the fucoidan structure and its biological activity is still vague. In addition, research has suggested that there is a link between diabetes and cancer; however, limited data exist where dual chemotherapeutic efforts are elucidated. This review provides an overview of glucose metabolism, which is the central process involved in the progression of both diseases. We also highlight potential therapeutic targets and show the relevance of fucoidan and its derivatives as a candidate for both cancer and diabetes therapy.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1959 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 360-361
Author(s):  
SAMUEL P. BESSMAN

THE MEASUREMENT of enzyme activity of serum as an indicator of disease has a long history in medicine. In the past, it has been the aim of the designers of these methods to make them as specific as possible for assay of an enzyme characteristic of a particular system or group of similar organs. Examples of these venerable tests are those for amylase, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase and choline esterase in the serum. Warburg made the first departure from this specificity by demonstrating that the activity of triosephosphate dehydrogenase in the serum of animals with cancer was much greater than that of controls. This test was partially specific, for as Warburg had earlier shown, the glycolytic activity of tumors is much greater than that of normal tissues. The non-specific approach became extreme with the introduction of the measurement of the glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase reaction in the diagnosis of acute coronary disease.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-154
Author(s):  
Mikhail V. DUTSEV

The article is devoted to the reality of the modern historical city in the totality of the actual values of the valuable heritage, traces of the past, mental codes, archetypal images and the memory of civilization. The place of history in today’s socio-cultural fi eld and in the professional context is not clearly defi ned. Together with the understanding of the need to preserve the heritage, traces and memory of the past, there are global trends that mediate the features of the glocal in architecture. However, even this compromise cannot fully demonstrate the complexity of the historical city viability. According to the author, it is necessary to search for reasons that sometimes appear outside the material reality, but address directly to the spiritual world and mental space of a person, which is the main purpose of the article. The emphasis is placed on the artistic dimension of environmental realities, which allows us to determine the living connections of history and modernity on the basis of the author’s concept of artc integration. The article is illustrated by some results of cooperation between the Nizhny Novgorod State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering and the Polytechnic University of Milan (Politecnico di Milano) in the fi eld of reconstruction and renovation of historically valuable territories and author’s photographs.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Parkinson

Abstract Variation has been demonstrated in modal use between written and spoken registers and between disciplines. This article investigates variation within a discipline by comparing modals of obligation and necessity used in three science genres. Obligation modals project strong authoritative stance, thus contrasting with the tendency in academic writing towards tentativeness. The modal auxiliaries must and should and quasi-modals have to and need to are investigated using student writing from the BAWE (British Academic Written English) corpus and a corpus of published research articles. Findings include a dearth of obligation modals in the empirical genres (research articles and laboratory reports). Also a greater prominence was found of dynamic modal meaning (where necessity arises from circumstances) rather than deontic meaning (where the necessity arises from human authority or rules). A further finding is the prominence of objective meaning in the science register compared with the International Corpus of English (Collins 2009a).


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ammar Mohammed Ahmed Mudawy

The study aims at suggesting effective methods and techniques that could improve English as a foreign language EFL students’ performance in writing skills. The researcher uses the descriptive, analytical method. Four tools were adopted pretest, post-test, supporting program, and a questionnaire for teachers for collecting data. Twenty-five students in Holy Quran University, Sudan, were chosen purposively, and thirty EFL teachers at a university level were randomly selected as a sample for the study. Ninty percent of the teachers agree on the suggested program and techniques. The findings of the study indicate that: using varied techniques and activities in pre-writing stage promotes students’ performances in writing, integration of reading and writing skills in the classroom improves students’ writing skills, as well as encouraging extensive reading outside the classroom promotes students’ performance in writing skills. Accordingly, the researcher recommends that: teachers should focus on the prewriting stage through different activities as well as reading and writing should be used in an integrated way in-class writing to guide the writing process.


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